Chevrolet has offered up the official pricing on its Spark EV -- the little vehicle will carry an MSRP of $27,495. Even though the outright purchase price for the Spark is $27,495, people who qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit will be able to get that purchase price down to $19,995.

People interested in the Spark EV that live in certain areas of California could also qualify for up to an additional $2,500 off purchase price.

Chevrolet is also offering a very attractive lease option for the small electric vehicle that most people will probably choose. The lease option is for 36 months at $199 per month. That lease price puts the monthly out-of-pocket cost for the Spark on par with the Nissan Leaf and the Fiat 500e. The Spark lease does require a $999 down payment, which doesn't include tax, title, registration and other dealer fees.

The EPA estimates that the driving range for the vehicle on a full charge will be 82 miles. The vehicle also uses a SAE combo charger able to recharge the battery to 80% in only 20 min.

A regular, gasoline-engined Spark has an MSRP of $12,185 and get EPA estimated 32/38 mpg (city/highway).

"The Chevrolet Spark EV is the most efficient – and now one of the most affordable - EVs you can buy" said Chris Perry, vice president, Chevrolet Marketing. "Combined with outstanding infotainment and great design, the fun-to-drive Spark EV is engineered to impress."

The Spark EV will be offered through select Chevrolet dealers in California and Oregon beginning in June of 2013.

quote: Yeah, for the base model. You also forgot that it's $20k after tax credit.

That is assuming you owe at least $7500 in taxes, as for me the tax credit this year would only have given me back maybe $5000 so it actually cost $22,500 and for someone making less money than I do it would cost even more because they would not get that much money back on a refund. Also when you finance you have to finance the full pre-tax-credit price so it is misleading to say it only cost $20k.

Even compared to the non base model gas version the EV version still costs almost twice as much up front. Another thing to consider is once the sell 60,000 of these the tax credit begins to be reduced until they hit 200,000 units to where it is completely gone. Not that they will sell that many any time soon. There is also a catch that if a dealership for some reason registers the EV to themselves for demo or other reasons it becomes ineligible for the tax credit once they sell it.

It is just a big misleading statement when everyone up front gives the price of EVs minus the $7500 tax credit.